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ENGLAND fans will be allowed to smoke dope before Sunday's crunch clash
with France -- to keep them calm.

Cops in Lisbon plan to crack down on drunk supporters while turning a blind
eye to those spotted puffing on a spliff.

Pot-smoking fans have been assured they will not be arrested, cautioned --
or even have their drugs confiscated.

Last night experts said the Portuguese police's "Here We Blow" policy would
reduce chances of a punch-up between rival fans.

Alan Buffry of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance said: "If people are drinking
they lose control, if they smoke cannabis they don't.

"Alcohol makes fans fight. But cannabis smokers will be shaking hands and
singing along together."

Dutch police used a similar policy in Euro 2000 and England's hooligan
element were too stoned to fight.

A Lisbon police spokeswoman said: "If people cause a problem through drugs
and become a menace then police will take action. But when this doesn't
happen why should the police be the ones making the fuss?"

More than 600 officers will be on duty for England's opening group game at
Lisbon's Stadium of Light.

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Portuguese police officers will turn a blind eye to England supporters
who openly smoke cannabis during Euro 2004, having decided that a
stoned crowd is easier to control than a drunk one.

Lisbon police confirmed yesterday that England fans will not be
arrested for puffing on joints on the streets of the Portuguese
capital, following a recommendation from the Dutch authorities
responsible for policing the English during Euro 2000.

Four years ago England's match in Eindhoven, ironically against
Portugal, passed off peacefully as many supporters took advantage of
the Netherlands' liberal drugs laws. By contrast the game against
Germany in the Belgian town of Charleroi was marred by violence, much
of it fuelled by alcohol.

Portugal has similarly relaxed legislation to the Dutch and the
authorities hope it will help them police the 50,000 supporters
expected to arrive in the country in the next few days.

Possession of small amounts of cannabis is not illegal in Portugal
but, technically, consumption is. However, having liaised with the
Dutch, police will not act except in extreme circumstances.

Isabel Canelas, a spokeswoman for the Portuguese police, said cannabis
would be a low priority during the tournament. "Everyone knows that
here everyone can smoke. The police are doing another kind of job and
their priorities are different.

"We won't be hiding behind doors waiting for someone to smoke a joint.
We have to use common sense. If people are smoking but not kicking
each other, not beating each other, and not making a problem, why on
earth would an officer go and ask 'Is that cannabis?'

"If you are quietly smoking and a police officer is 10 metres away,
what's the big risk in your behaviour? I'm not going to tap you on the
shoulder and ask 'What are you smoking?' if you are posing no menace
to others. Our priority is alcohol.

"Of course, if people cause a problem through using drugs and become a
menace to others, police will be expected to take action. It would be
totally different when a police officer realises there's someone
trying to sell."

Visitors to Lisbon do not have to try too hard to buy the drug. The
city does not have "coffee shops" in the Dutch style, but tourists are
likely to be offered cannabis by street vendors.

Organisers have not restricted
the amount of alcohol on sale during
the tournament despite the Football Association's concerns. Beer costs
just 66p a glass and will be freely available around stadiums and at
big screen locations.

Eindhoven police spokesman Johann Beelan said cannabis was a positive
influence on public order at Euro 2000. "Cannabis ... was part of the
conditions which meant everyone had a good time," he said.

British police estimated around 3,000 English supporters had arrived
in Portugal by last night, but there have been no reports of disorder
and no arrests.

I think they are onto something wise. Weed has always been a drug of fellowship, among the Indians it was referred to as peace pipe. With a lot of the people smoking it in the same area,I'm sure a bond is felt, much more than drinking.Ithas a calming affect on people, making them zoned out, hungry, and sleepy- hardly adjectives that would be used in a fight. It can certainly take the nasty edge off a drunk.

These officials are more worried about crowd-control and injuries, theft and menacing. How refreshing it is to see marijuana looked upon as the solution, instead of the problem.

Any doubts that Europe takes its sports far more seriously than the United
States went up in smoke last week.

To discourage rowdy British hooligans from rioting during the Euro
2004 soccer tournament held in Lisbon, Portuguese police announced
beforehand that they wouldn't arrest or detain visiting Brits who were
spotted smoking marijuana because the drug decreases violent urges,
according to British newspaper The Guardian.

In other words, they're actually giving England supporters the OK to
get stoned in the stands.

The country's lackadaisical drug laws criminalize cannabis consumption
but technically, possession of a few ounces or so is legal in
Portugal. Lisbon police said they will refocus their efforts on trying
to curb alcohol consumption, which is often a main cause of postgame
riots.

Though it's an immense tactical blunder on the police's part to
advertise its selective enforcement of a national law, their desire to
put public safety ahead of nabbing a few harmless tokers is admirable,
considering the many deaths that have resulted from raucous soccer
fans on the rampage.

Here in the States, law enforcement officials wouldn't let an ounce ofpot go unpunished even if it was Super Bowl Sunday and the Cincinnati
Bengals were up by three touchdowns.

Of course, the athletes are pumped full of all manner of performance
enhancing drugs, some legal, some illegal and some so new the Food andDrug Administration hasn't had time to ban them yet.

The Guardian quoted a police spokeswoman as saying "If you are quietly
smoking and a police officer is 10 metres away, what's the big risk in
your behaviour? I'm not going to tap you on the shoulder and ask 'What
are you smoking?' if you are posing no menace to others. Our priority
is alcohol."

This could drastically change European controlled substance laws,
which are already far more lenient than American zero-tolerance
policies that call for an all-out war on drugs.

When Lisbon police place a temporary moratorium on marijuana arrests
because the wild weed actually reduces violence, not incites it,
lawmaking bodies around the world are going to have a much harder time
justifying their inflexible intolerance for even the smallest amounts
of pot.

American sports would be dramatically different if cannabis was
allowed and even welcomed in the nation's hallowed stadiums and
ballparks. You'd see far fewer fights and perhaps a slight upswing in
cases of the mid
-game munchies from the fans, and just imagine the
far-reaching effects it would have on the players.

A joint or two could transform the NBA into more of an exhibition
league where all 30 teams emulated the Harlem Globetrotters. You'd see
a lot less shooting and a lot more dribbling, but fouls would be held
to a minimum.

Hockey players would benefit the most from a healthy dose of reefer.
With a lessened desire to shove opposing skaters into the wall and
pummel them with hockey sticks while the referees pet their seeing-eye
dogs, we might start seeing average scores rise above two or three
points per game.

The crowds at NASCAR races would behave pretty much the same as they
do now.

And I must say, having Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong of stoner-flick
fame in the press box calling games with Frank Gifford would certainly
be entertaining.

But the addition of yet another chemical diversion would ultimately
serve only to further weaken the integrity of pro sports, which has
already been rocked by countless scandals in the past decade alone.

In the end, respect for the game and a love of its players should draw
fans to the stadium -- not bongs and buckets of beer.

Portugal was a little uneasy hosting the European Championship soccer
match between England and France this year, but not because of
terrorist threats. Instead, rowdy English soccer fans-infamous for
rioting-put fear into the hearts of Lisbon's police force. Lisbon's
response? Smoke them out.

Police let fans know before the game that no arrests would be made, no
warnings would be issued if fans were found smoking pot. Cops even
promised not to confiscate the ganja. The policy was pretty much smoke
'em if you've got 'em. On the other hand, police swore to lock up
every drunk they could find.

Authorities speculated that more pot and less alcohol would lead to
fewer instances of violence. Whether or not the plan was successful is
a matter of perspective.

After France upset England and won the game, a segment of English fans
did get rowdy-those fans who sought to ease the pain of their loss at
the local pubs. Out of the approximately 50,000 French and English
fans who merged in Lisbon to support their mates, only about 400 of
them, mostly English, fought with police after the game-kind of a
small miracle. Dejected drunks threw pint glasses, empty bottles and
bar stools at police, who countered with dogs and the riot team.

Perhaps the Portuguese police didn't go quite far enough. Next time
they could try enforcing a "must get stoned" policy to get the English
fans to relax a little. They could pump the smoke of burning marijuana
into the stadium and let it waft through the happily sedated crowd. As
long as the popcorn, peanuts and hotdogs flow just as freely,
everything will be mellow, man.

The fans could stand to take some initiative, as well. You can't be
expecting the authorities to twist up the spliffs for you.